A mansion built in 1911 may be getting a new lease on life, but details are “under cover,” when we asked on site.
The area near West and Indian Villages on the east side has seen a lot of investment as of late.
The James Burgess Book Mansion seems to have at least extensive exterior restoration work underway. Here are some photos.
James Burgess Book was one of the Book brothers that had a grand vision for Washington Boulevard to be a shopping destination that rivaled Fifth Avenue in New York, according Detroit1701.
This house was design by Louis Kamper – the same person who is did the iconic Book Tower currently undergoing renovation.
The building is on the National Register of Historic Places.
When we spotted work being done on this beauty and stopped to check it out, were directed to the owner, who property records list as Deirdre Golden.
She said that she can’t share any details at this time and they’re “under cover with the DIA.”
Now this answer with one detail – if not a red herring – raises a lot of interesting possibilities.
The Detroit Institute of Arts does indeed conserve some important items around town, like the Joe Louis Fist.
If they’re actually involved in this project at 8625 East Jefferon, this has the potential to be something amazing.
There have been some false starts with renovating this building over the years, but maybe now is the time this one comes back to life.
We’ll update this post if we hear anything more concrete. But it’s good to see this pretty building some love.